Gram pod borer

• Defoliation in early stages
• Larva’s head alone thrust inside the pods and the rest of the body hanging out.
• Pods with round holes

Identification of pest

Scientific Name - Helicoverpa armigera

• Eggs – are spherical in shape and creamy white in colour, laid singly
• Larva - shows colour variation from greenish to brown. Green with dark brown grey lines laterally on the body with lateral white lines and also has dark and pale bands.
• Pupa – brown in colour, occurs in soil, leaf, pod and crop debris
• Adult - light pale brownish yellow stout moth. Fore wing grey to pale brown with V shaped speck.Hind wings are pale smoky white with a broad blackish outer margin. 

Management Strategies

• For pod borers, raise one row of sunflower as intercrop for every 9 rows of pigeon pea and plant maize as border crop.
• Pheromone traps for Helicoverpa armigera 12/ha 115
• Bird perches 50/ha
• Mechanical collection of grown up larva and blister beetle
• Apply Neem oil 2%

Blue butterfly

Symptom of Damage

• Buds, flowers and young pods with boreholes
• Presence of slug like caterpillar.
• Honey dew secretion with black ant movements

Scientific Name - Lampides boeticus

• Larva – It is flat and slightly rounded; Pale green with a rough skin.
• Adult - moth is greyish blue with prominent black spots in the hind wings and a long tail; Ventral side of wings with numerous stripes and brown spots

Management Strategies

• Avoid dense and close planting
• Avoid early or late sowing
•  Regular soil digging cause death of larvae and pupae
•  Egg parasitoid, Trichogramma spp.,
•  Larval parasitoids, Hyperencyrtus lucoenephila and Litrodromus crassipes

Grass blue butterfly

Symptom of Damage

• Buds, flowers and young pods with boreholes and presence of slug like caterpillar.
• Larval entry hole on the pod is plugged with excreta.

Identification of pest

Scientific Name - Euchrysops cnejus

• Larva - pale green or yellow with a red line and short black hairs on the body.
• Adult - butterfly is blue, medium sized with 5 black spots in the hind wings and two    black spots in the inner margin.

Management Strategies

• ETL 10% affected parts
• Deep summer ploughing in 2-3 years to eliminate quiescent pupa.
• Early sowing, short duration varieties.
• Avoid closer plant spacing.
• Grow tall sorghum as comparison crop to serve as biological bird perches
• Collect and destroy larvae and adults to the extent possible
• Install pheromone traps at a distance of 50 m @ 5 traps/ha for each insect pest.
• Install Bird perches @ 50/ha.
• Setting of light traps (1 light trap/5 acre) to kill moth population.
• Control is achieved by releasing of Trichogramma chlionis at weekly intervals @1.5 lakh/ha/ week for four times.
• Conserve green lacewing, predatory stink bugs, spider, ants
• Bt @ 600 g, neem oil/ pungum oil 80 EC @ 2ml/lit

Plume moth

Symptoms of damage

• Pin head  size holes on  pods
• Small spiny caterpillars and pupae seen on the pods 

Identification of the pest

Scientific Name - Exelastis atomosa

• Larva - is greenish brown, fringed with radiating hairs and spines
• Adult - is delicate, brown coloured small moth with plumed wings

Management Strategies

ETL: 5/plant

• Bird perches 50/ha
• Mechanical collection of grown up larva and blister beetle
• Apply Neem oil 2%

Symptoms of damage

• Bore holes on the buds, flower or pods
• Infested pods and flowers are webbed together

Identification of the pest

Scientific Name - Maruca testulalis

• Larva - Greenish white with brown head. It has two pairs of dark spots on the back of each segment
• Adult - Forewings- light brown colour with white markings; Hindwings – white colour with brown markings at the lateral edge

Management Strategies

ETL: 5/plant

• Bird perches 50/ha
• Mechanical collection of grown up larva and blister beetle
• Apply Neem oil 2%

Symptoms of damage

• Dropping of flowers and young pods
• Older pods marked with a brown spot where a larvae has entered

Identification of the pest

Scientific Name - Etiella zinckenella

• Larva – greenish initially, turns pink before pupation
• It has 5 black spots on the prothorax

Management Strategies

ETL 10% affected parts

• Deep summer ploughing in 2-3 years to eliminate quiescent pupa.
• Early sowing, short duration varieties
• Avoid closer plant spacing
• Grow tall sorghum as comparison crop to serve as biological bird perches
• Install Bird perches @ 50/ha
• Setting of light traps (1 light trap/5 acre) to kill moth population
• Control is achieved by releasing of Trichogramma chlionis at weekly intervals @1.5 lakh/ha/ week for four times
• Conserve green lacewing, predatory stink bugs, spider, ants

Field bean pod borer

Symptoms of damage

• The larva bores inside the pod and feeds on the seeds within.

Identification of the pest

Scientific Name - Adisura atkinsoni

• Larva - greenish having brown lateral marking
• It has humped anal segment

Management Strategies

• ETL 10% affected parts
• Deep summer ploughing in 2-3 years to eliminate quiescent pupa.
• Early sowing, short duration varieties.
• Avoid closer plant spacing.
• Grow tall sorghum as comparison crop to serve as biological bird perches
• Collect and destroy larvae and adults to the extent possible
• Install pheromone traps at a distance of 50 m @ 5 traps/ha for each insect pest.
• Install Bird perches @ 50/ha.
• Setting of light traps (1 light trap/5 acre) to kill moth population.
• Control is achieved by releasing of Trichogramma chlionis at weekly intervals @1.5 lakh/ha/ week for four times.
• Conserve green lacewing, predatory stink bugs, spider, ants

Red gram pod fly

Symptoms of damage

• Dark brown encrustation on the pod wall
• Dry pods showing pin head size hole,
• Seeds shriveled, striped and partially eaten

Identification of the pest

Scientific Name - Melanagromyza obtusa

• Larva - greenish having brown lateral marking
• It has humped anal segment
• Moths are yellowish brown in colour
• Forewings - yellow coloured with ‘V’ shaped specks 
• Adult
  • Hindwings – has pale brown markings 
  • Management Put bird perches @ 50/ha
  • Mechanical collection of grown up larva and blister beetle

Management Strategies

• Bird perches 50/ha
• Mechanical collection of grown up larva and blister beetle
• Apply Neem oil 2%

Stem fly

Symptoms of damage

• Drooping of the tender leaves and – seedling wilt
• Yellowing of young plants
• Stem become swollen and start ribbing where maggot and pupae are present

Identification of the pest

Scientific Name - Ophiomyia phaseoli

• Maggot- Small yellow coloured
• Adult -Tiny black fly

Management Strategies

• Timely sowing also minimizes the attack of the pest

Pod bugs

Symptoms of damage

• Pods with black spots
• Shedding of green pods
• Poorly filled pods with shriveled grains inside

Identification of the pest

Scientific Name - Riptortus pedestris

• Brownish black and hemispherical 
• Nymphs – resemble dark brown ants

Management Strategies

• Bird perches 50/ha
• Mechanical collection of grown up larva and blister beetle
• Apply Neem oil 2%

Lab lab bug or Stink bug

Symptoms of damage

• Cluster on the  plant  parts and suck the sap

Identification of the pest

Scientific Name - Coptosoma cribraria

• Nymphs and Adult - sub globular, oval and greenish shield bug
• It has a characteristic buggy odour

Bean Aphids

Symptoms of damage

• Leaves, inflorescence stalk and young pods  covered with dark coloured aphids
• Honey dew secretion with black ant movements

Identification of the pest

Scientific Name - Aphis craccivora

• Nymphs and Adult – dark coloured with cornicles in the abdomen

Leaf hopper

Symptoms of damage

• Leave mottled and yellowish in colour
• Green colour insects found under surface of leaves

Identification of the pest

Scientific Name - Empoasca kerri

• Adult – elongate, active, wedge shape, green insects

Whitefly

Symptoms of damage

• Leave mottled and yellowish in colour
• vector of yellow mosaic virus

Identification of the pest

Scientific Name - Bemisia tabaci

• Adults -are small, yellow bodied insects with white wings which are densely   covered with a waxy powder
• Nymphs and pupae -are black and round or oval. Pupae have marginal bristles

Management Strategies

• Shaking the infested plants over the vessels of oil and water or oily cloth gives most effective

Eriyophid mite

Symptoms of damage

• Vector of red gram sterility  mosaic virus

Identification of the pest

Scientific Name - Aceria cajani

• Nymphs & Adult – white in colour
• Very small microscopic and vermiform llike with two pairs of anteriorly  located legs

Management Strategies

• Shaking the infested plants over the vessels of oil and water or oily cloth gives most effective

Leaf folder

Symptoms of damage

• Leaves folded together

Identification of the pest

Scientific Name - Anticarsia irrorata

• Larva- green coloured
• Adult –   yellowish brown moth with an oblique black line on the wings

Leaf Webber

Symptoms of damage

• Leaves rolled up apically and become white  and  dried up

Identification of the pest

Scientific Name - Eucosma critica

• Larva- creamy yellow

Red gram leaf roller

Symptoms of damage

• Leaves folded together with tender shoots showing bore holes

Identification of the pest

Scientific Name - Caloptilia soyella

• Larva- stout, long, smooth yellow with brown head

Lab lab leaf miner

Symptoms of damage

• Leaves with large irregular papery mines on the dorsal surface

Identification of the pest

Scientific Name - Cyphosticha coerulea

• Larva- orange coloured caterpillar

Blister beetle

Symptoms of damage

• The adult feeds voraciously on buds and flowers.

Identification of the pest

Scientific Name - Mylabris phalerata

• Eggs - are light yellowish in colour and cylindrical in shape.
• Larva - Young grubs are white in colour.
• Adult – Elytra are black in colour with a round orange spot and two transverse wavy   orange bands across the wings.

Management Strategies

• Manual collection or collection with insect net and killing of adults in kerosenized water appears to be the only possible solution.

Blister beetle

Symptoms of damage

• Flower webbed together

Identification of the pest

Scientific Name - Eublemma hemarrhoda

• Larva - is green with a black head and long white hairs on the body
• Adult
  • Forewings – yellow colour with purple patches
  • Hind wings -white